401k

While Fidelity hasn’t yet confirmed rumors it will launch retail Bitcoin trading, the firm said enabling broader access to digital assets remained a key area of focus.

$4.2 trillion asset management firm Fidelity Investments is reportedly working towards offering Bitcoin trading services to its 34.4 million retail investor base, according to Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and people familiar with the matter. 

While Fidelity hasn’t officially confirmed plans to incorporate crypto onto its retail platform, Novogratz told a conference audience in New York on Sept. 12, that the move may be just around the corner:

“A bird told me that Fidelity, a little bird in my ear, is going to shift their retail customers into crypto soon enough.”

“I hope that bird is right. So we are still this institutional march and that gives crypto its floor,” he added.

Novogratz isn’t the only person to have signaled the potential move from Fidelity. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Sept. 12 noted that that Fidelity is currently “weighing a plan” to allow individual investors to trade Bitcoin on its brokerage platform.

A similar note was shared by Eight Global Founder and CEO Michaël van de Poppe last week, suggesting that the platform will launch Bitcoin trading for retail customers in November.

Fidelity in a Sept. 12 statement addressed the rumors, noting:

"While we have nothing new to announce, expanding our offerings to enable broader access to digital assets remains an area of focus."

Fidelity Investment has been an active investor and playmaker in the crypto space, fueled by a growing demand from clients to access crypto investment opportunities.

Fidelity started mining Bitcoin in 2015 and launched a Bitcoin-trading business for hedge funds and institutional investors in 2018.

In April, Fidelity also began allowing its 401(k) retirement savings account holders to invest directly into Bitcoin (BTC), though this was later met with pushback from three U.S. senators including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who called the launch of the Bitcoin product to be “immensely troubling.”

Related: Sen. Warren asks Fidelity to address the risks to put Bitcoin in 401(k)s

Fidelity is a multinational finance corporation that provides brokerage services, mutual funds management, investment advice, and retirement services and is the fourth largest asset management firm in the world, according to ADV ratings.